


Protea

by iisaax



Series: Inflorescence [13]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Coming Out, Fluff, Genderfluid Character, Other, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Trans Character, author doesn’t know anything about press conferences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 19:22:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15780477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iisaax/pseuds/iisaax
Summary: Steve had looked up from his book. “You want to do what?”“Come out,” Bucky had responded, jaw set, arms straight down by their sides. “To everyone.”Steve reached for his bookmark and marked his page.-pro·te·a/ˈprōdēə/1. an evergreen shrub or small tree with large nectar-rich conelike flower heads2. represents diversity; transformation





	Protea

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short little something I wrote all in one sitting - working my way through my list of plants ~

Steve had looked up from his book. “You want to do what?”

“Come out,” Bucky had responded, jaw set, arms straight down by their sides. “To everyone.”

Steve reached for his bookmark and marked his page. 

After he set it aside, he swung his legs off the couch and pat on the cushion for Bucky to sit. Bucky shifted from foot to foot, then walked over and sat. Steve took their hand and rubbed a thumb over their knuckles.

“You want to come out,” he said hesitantly. “To everyone. Live? Like at a press conference?”

Bucky nodded, one quick motion. Then, they faltered a bit. “Do you think it’s… a bad idea?”

“No, no,” Steve said hurriedly. “I just. You haven’t been comfortable going to those conferences since you… You know… Got back. What made you change your mind?”

Bucky shrugged, picking at a frayed string of their sweatpants. “I just figured it was time. You  _ know _ how people talk ‘bout me. ‘Bout us.”

Steve scooted closer, “ _ People _ don’t matter. What matters is  _ you _ . Are  _ you _ sure you want to do this?”

Bucky bit their lip, tilting their head back and forth. “Yes and no,” they eventually said. “Yes I want to stop people talkin’ bout me, and yes I want to be honest, but I  _ don’t _ really want to actually get up there all alone and say it,” they mumbled, tucking their chin.

Steve tilted their chin back up with his other hand and kissed them, slow and light. Bucky sighed, and after a few moments, leaned back. Steve moved his hand around to their jaw, and Bucky leaned into his touch. “I can be there with you,” he told them.

Bucky lit up at that, beaming.

“Really?”

“Of course. What, you think I’m gonna let my best pal do it alone? My steady? My datemate? My  _ épou _ -”

Bucky shoved him, huffing a laugh. “I get it; You’ve been Googling.”

Steve nudged them back, grinning. They fought for a while, until Steve accidentally kicked his empty mug onto the rug and they had to check for spills. As Bucky set it back onto the coffee table, Steve took their hand again.

“Buck,” he said. They sat back, looking at him. “No way in Hell I’m gonna make you do it alone.” He squeezed their hand. “End of the line, I said, and I meant it.”

Bucky’s expression softened, and they smiled. They tugged him close for a hug. “I said it first, punk.”

Steve laughed, running a hand up their back to stroke their hair. “Thought maybe I could fool ‘ya.”

Bucky leaned back, and made a disappointed look. “Wow. Taking advantage of the amnesiac. Way to stoop, Rogers.”

Steve poked them in the ribs, and they wrestled some more. Bucky ended up pinning him to the couch and flicked their hair out of their face, smirking down at him. 

“Some things never change, I guess. You need to work on your reflexes.”

“Maybe it was all part of my plan,” Steve countered, raising an eyebrow. “Maybe I wanted you exposed so I could-” he shot his hands to their ribcage. Bucky immediately burst into laughter and wriggled away. 

“Not fair!” they managed between giggles. “ _ Not _ fair!”

Steve pinned them instead, grinning. Bucky pouted, crossing their arms to protect their sides. 

“Not fair,” they grumbled.

Steve leaned down and kissed them, propping himself on his elbows. Bucky slowly stopped frowning and kissed him back. Then, Steve broke away and smiled. “Yep, some things never change.”

Bucky rolled their eyes, then hooked their hands around the back of his neck, pulling him back down. Steve laughed, and let himself be pulled.

-

The two of them brought Bucky’s idea to Sam, who brought it to Rhodey, who brought it to Tony, who brought it to Pepper. Pepper set them up a conference in six minutes flat. After a few phone calls, she had turned back around and nodded, smiling. Tony had dragged her off somewhere, going on about how hot she was, and the others quickly retreated to talk about a game plan.

So now Steve sits, holding Buck’s hand under the long conference table while they nervously sip their water.

He squeezes, glancing over. Are you okay? He asks with an eyebrow.

Bucky seems to understand and nods, but their bouncing legs give them away. Steve yearns to reach out and rub their back, and kiss them, and comfort them, but he can’t. He squeezes again, trying for admittedly not the first time to telepathically communicate with them. Maybe it works, because Bucky sets down their water and squeezes back. 

A sound guy gets their attention, and he and Buck look over, as do Sam, Natasha, and Clint, who offered to panel with them. He can also see Tony and Pepper milling around backstage, but he doesn’t see Thor. Then, he spots him in the audience with a hovering Bruce, taking pictures with fans. He hardly has time to look, though, as the sound guy quickly starts having them test mics.

After he tests his mic, he sits back and steals another look at Bucky, who stutters their test then takes more anxious sips of water. Steve just holds their hand tighter, until the host starts calming the crowd and introducing everyone, and he lets go.

“...And our local Captain America!” the host gestures towards him and politely claps. 

Steve puts on his best Captain America smile and nods at the cameras. Then, the host moves onto Bucky.

“And the infamous Winter Soldier!” she rouses the crowd. Bucky smiles too, giving a small wave, but their eyes don’t crinkle at all. Steve forces his smile to stay and quietly claps along with the rest of the room.

After she moves down the line, the host talks a bit about what they’ve all done for the city, and things of that nature that Steve has a hard time paying attention to, as all he can think about is Bucky sitting next to him, and his shield backstage that he brought in case anything gets ugly. He doesn’t  _ think _ things will get ugly. Will they?

“So Captain, you had something you wanted to start with?”

Steve is startled out of his thoughts by the host, who looks at him expectantly. He leans forward into the mic, putting back on his Captain America smile. “Steve is fine,” he assures her. “And actually, my friend Bucky here would like to speak first, if that’s okay.”

The host’s own smile doesn’t falter, and she turns to Bucky. “Ah yes, Sergeant Barnes, lifetime friend of Captain America - ah -  _ Steve _ . Bucky. Can I call you Bucky? We haven’t seen much of you lately; What’s the special occasion?” she jokes, and reporters in the front row scramble for pens.

Bucky leans forward, shaking ever so slightly but voice calm. “Bucky is okay with me, ma’am,” they drawl, stretching a lopsided grin that still doesn’t reach their eyes. Cameras flash. “I would just like to address a few things.”

“Well the floor is yours, sir” she jokes again, smile never leaving her face. 

Bucky clears their throat, glancing at Steve. “Well… I’d like to start with that, actually. I don’t… I’m not… I would rather you not use sir.”

“Oh?” 

“Yes, I’m…uncomfortable with the term.” Their leg starts to bounce again, and they take a shuddering breath. “All masculine terms, actually.”

A few hands shoot up in the audience. The host allows them to speak. 

“Are you saying you rather we use  _ feminine _ terms?” one asks, chuckling like it’s some kind of joke. Several people around him join in.

“Not necessarily,” Bucky replies slowly. “But to be honest, it would be preferred.”

More hands shoot up. The host looks a little frazzled, but only minutely so, and points to a woman in front. 

“Are you coming out as female, Mr. Barnes?” she asks, almost giddy.

Steve feels his smile drop a bit at the oxymoron but he quickly pulls it back up. Bucky chews at their lip. “Again, not necessarily.”

“Sergeant Barnes, are you a man or a woman?” another reporter asks without being called on.

Bucky shifts in their seat. They look over again at Steve, who tries again to telepathically speak. You can do this, he thinks. End of the line. 

Bucky starts to talk multiple times but stops. “Yes,” they eventually say. 

Several more people try to speak at once, the room filling with camera flashes, but the host calms them down. She faces the panel, smile now a little too wide. “Bucky,” she says cheerfully. “Would you mind elaborating?”

Bucky takes another deep breath, like they’re getting ready to fire a sniper rifle. “I identify as- as transgender. Specifically genderfluid. Meanin’ how I feel about my gender changes day to day. For example, I may wake up a girl and go to sleep a boy, or I might spend a week or- or two as neither. Or I might spend a month as both; It really varies from person to person.”

A reporter manages to shout above the rest, “Are you saying there are more people like you?”

“Oh, yeah,” Bucky blinks. “Loads of people.”

Clint speaks up, “Plenty of people are transgender.”

“It’s a common thing,” Sam adds, crossing his arms as Natasha nods in agreement.

Steve leans up to his mic, peering over at Bucky. “And we all support them, before you ask.”

A few hands go down, and the host says over the din, “Them?”

“Yeah,” Bucky says. “I use neutral pronouns. So they, them…”

“Again, common,” Sam points out, with a hand as well, daring anyone to argue with him. A few people still try to, however, and the others take a couple questions. 

Steve writes a small note on the napkin in front of him, asking if Bucky still wants him to speak about their relationship. He slides it over, and Bucky reads it. Then, they reach over and grab his hand, squeezing. Steve takes a deep breath of his own and a sip of water.

“I have a question for Captain Rogers,” a reporter calls, right on time. “You said you all support Barnes, but has this change affected your personal relationship with him?”

“Them,” he reminds the reporter. “And this isn’t really a change. Buck has been genderfluid the whole time I’ve known them. In fact, they’ve been genderfluid their whole life; they just told me a little late. And it hasn’t affected our relationship - we’re still as close as ever.”

“And what  _ is _ your relationship with Barnes?” the reporter asks, a little smug. More cameras flash.

Steve leans forward so he is heard clearly. “I am and have always been in love with James Buchanan Barnes. We are together, and have been for almost as long as I can remember. We probably will be for the rest of the time we’ve got.”

Bucky squeezes his hand, almost painfully tight, and they lean forward to speak in their own microphone, “Until the end of the line.”

Steve smiles at them, a real one. Lots of people try to talk at once, and a few security guards have to step out to keep the peace. The host looks as strained as ever, but beams at the panel. 

“And do any of you know about this relationship?” she asks.

They all nod, Natasha leaning forward. “It was pretty obvious,” she says. “Anyone who’s been around Steve for long enough knows that James is all he talks about.”

“I’m honestly kinda surprised it’s taken this long to come up,” Clint adds. Steve feels the tips of his ears get hot. 

“Yeah,” Sam says, crossing his arms again. “They’ve always been partners.”

“Do we have any other questions?” the host asks the audience. “Not about Barnes or Rogers?”

A few more people have some questions for the rest of the team, but Steve tunes them out. He’s too busy holding his partner’s hand. His  _ partner _ . Bucky scribbles on the other side of the napkin with their metal hand - ambidexterity being a perk of having a machine for an arm - and slides it back over. Steve grabs it and reads it. 

_ Always been in love, huh? _

Steve blushes and unfolds the napkin so he can write on the inside that yes, he’s always been in love with them. Always.

Bucky takes the napkin back, and then smiles at it. They lean over, hesitant, then place a cool hand at the nape of his neck, pulling him in.

Steve, ignoring the flashing of lights to the side and the chattering of the host, lets himself be pulled.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you spot any mistakes. Wrote this kind of sleep deprived haha
> 
> Thanks for reading! More soon.


End file.
